Officer whose quick research led to arrest in Cherish Perrywinkle homicide feted

Jacksonville sheriff's officer Elaina Gonzales gets a hug from fellow officer Tina Henson as they were recognized at Thursday morning's awards ceremony at the Sheriff's Office. Sheriff John Rutherford recognized Gonzales as the Police Officer of the Month and Henson and Charlie Wilkie with certificates of commendation for their roles in capturing the suspect in the abduction and murder of Cherish Perrywinkle.

Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford presents a certificate of appreciation to citizen Brenda Fillingim during Thursday morning's awards ceremony. She was among three citizens who provided tips in the arrest of Donald Smith in the Cherish Perrywinkle case.

Jacksonville sheriff's officer Elaina Gonzales gets a hug from fellow officer Charlie Wilkie during Thursday's awards ceremony at the Sheriff's Office. They were honored for their roles in the Cherish Perrywinkle case.

Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford recognized (left to right) Officer Elaina Gonzales as the Police Officer of the Month and Officers Charlie Wilkie and Tina Henson with certificates of commendation for their roles in capturing the suspect in the abduction and murder of Cherish Perrywinkle.

(Left to right) Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford recognizes Officer Elaina Gonzales as the Police Officer of the Month and Officers Charlie Wilkie and Tina Henson with certificates of commendation for their roles in capturing the suspect in the abduction and murder of Cherish Perrywinkle.

As sketchy information flowed from the scene the night Cherish Perrywinkle died, Elaina Gonzales was across town in her patrol car cracking the case by following a trail through jail and vehicle records that led to a suspect.

On that June night last year, the 14-year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was working in a different part of the city than the team that was searching for the 8-year-old. Over her radio, Gonzales could hear descriptions of a possible abductor named “Don.”

Poring through jail records, she found Donald James Smith, a 57-year-old sex offender recently released from incarceration. She later discovered he had access to a white van that looked like one in surveillance photos from the Lem Turner Drive Walmart where Cherish was last seen.

It was key information that helped them issue an alert with photos.

Smith was apprehended the next morning, not long before Cherish’s body was found behind a Northside church in a wooded creek area. The van belonged to his mother.

Smith is charged with murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the case and is awaiting trial.

Thursday, Sheriff John Rutherford said Gonzales had earned the Sheriff’s Office January Officer of the Month award for the critical leads she developed. She and two other officers as well as three others who reported seeing what turned out to be Smith’s van were all recognized for roles they played.

The case could have dragged on, Rutherford said, and Cherish’s body never found.

The officers were not available for interviews because the case has not gone to trial, the Sheriff’s Office said.Lt. Rob Schoonover, then the leader of the Sheriff’s Office homicide unit, said photos of Smith and other men named Don who fit the profile were shown to Cherish’s mother, Rayne Perrywinkle.

She identified Smith, Schoonover said.

It was about 3:30 a.m. June 22, a little more than four hours after the youngster had gone off with a man who befriended the family, police were told.

Later in the morning, Henson was on patrol checking hotel and motel parking lots for the van when she was assigned to handle a traffic crash on Interstate 95 near Dunn Avenue, Rutherford said.

“Tina saw Donald Smith drive past her in the white van,” the sheriff said. Hinson broke away from the accident report and began following Smith as she requested backup and verified the tag number. Wilkie was one of the officers who responded to the traffic stop. He thought by the looks of Smith’s clothes, he had been outdoors.

It was the three residents — Fillingim, Howard and Bruton — who helped lead police to the church. They had noticed it there and later learned about the alert so notified police.

Wilkie, a K-9 officer and his dog, Gator, found Cherish behind the church, Rutherford said.

In September at a public workshop to discuss better legislation to protect against such heinous acts, Wilkie spoke about how he’s still affected by that day. He wanted the group to know that people in law enforcement are parents, too, and suffer along with everyone else in cases like Cherish.

“If not for the good police work done here and the citizens who were willing to get involved, we could have gone for years, maybe even forever without knowing what happened to that child,” the sheriff said.